Ms. Elizabeth Oldham

Adjunct Assistant Professor (Pure & Applied Mathematics)

18 WESTLAND ROW

Elizabeth Oldham's main work is in the field of mathematics education. She has a long association with cross-national studies of curriculum and attainment: she was a member of the international Curriculum Analysis Group for the Second International Mathematics Study in the 1980s; she worked with the Educational Research Centre in Dublin with regard to curriculum aspects of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study in the 1990s; and she is currently a member of the National Advisory Committee for the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the National TIMSS [Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study] Post-Primary Advisory Group. She served as an Education Officer (Mathematics) for the Irish National Council for Curriculum and Assessment while the school mathematics courses were being revised in the 1990s. Her current work is chiefly on aspects of teaching and learning mathematics, particularly with regard to teachers' and prospective teachers' philosophies of mathematics and mathematical identities, but also on prospective teachers' understanding of concepts. Her other main field of interest is the use of ICTs in education. She served on the ICT Steering Committee of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, and now works especially with colleagues in the Trinity College Centre for Research in IT in Education. With the revival of interest in computer programming in schools, she is also engaged in research in this area. She is a former President of the Educational Studies Association of Ireland (2000-2002). At present she is co-chair of a Research and Development Centre ("Science and Mathematics Education") of the Association for Teacher Education in Europe. She is currently Vice-Chair of the Dublin Branch of the Irish Mathematics Teachers' Association and has chaired the Dublin Branch of the Computer Education Society of Ireland; she serves on the national executives of both bodies. A former teacher at Alexandra College, Dublin, she is now on the school's Council (governing body).

After decades in which there has been little focus on the teaching and learning of programming in schools, the topic has returned to prominence. In some countries, attempts are being made to balance the teaching of ICT skills, and/or using ICT in teaching and learning, by providing curricular opportunities for students to learn to program and to develop their computational thinking skills. This is the case in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. However, in both jurisdictions, there are concerns about the readiness of teachers to teach the relevant courses so that students reach an acceptable level of skill and understanding for national certification. "The Programming Studio," a collaborative project between Queen's University Belfast and Trinity College,addresses this issue. The chief aims of the project are to document the levels of programming expertise and readiness among teachers likely to be interested in teaching programming courses, and to allow a pilot group of teachers to experience programming as a "digital literacy" by mastering appropriate programming language(s) through games-based learning.

Funding Agency

SCoTENS (Standing Conference on Teacher Education North and South)

Project Type

Research project

Project Title

An exploration of Mathematical Identity using Narrative as a Tool (MINT)

From

May 2011

To

October 2014

Summary

The project involves investigating the Mathematical Identity of cohorts of student teachers and others who are, will be, or may be involved in mathematics teaching. The chief aim is to propose an efficient and effective protocol by which third level mathematics educators can explore the Mathematical Identities of their students, with a view to improving the teaching and learning of mathematics. The project is a partnership between mathematics educators at St. Patrick's College (Drumcondra), Stranmillis University College (Belfast), Trinity College Dublin, the University of Limerick, and the Institute of Art, Design and Technology (Dun Laoghaire). A colleague from NUI Galway is acting as a consultant.

Funding Agency

SCoTENS (Standing Conference on Teacher Education North and South)

Project Type

Research project

Project Title

The effect of calculator use on mathematics in schools and in Certificate examinations

From

1999

To

2008

Summary

Investigation of the effect of introducing calculators into the Junior Cycle Mathematics syllabus and the Junior Certificate examination

Logo as part of the B. Ed. course: Helping students to think and to learn mathematics? in, editor(s)Robbie O'Leary and John O'Mahony , ICTs in the primary school: Teaching and learning for the 21st Century, Dublin, Dublin West Education Centre, 2010, pp219 - 224, [Elizabeth Oldham],
Book Chapter,
PUBLISHED

Elizabeth Oldham, Lessons Learned: What International Assessments Tell Us About Math Achievement, Review of Lessons Learned: What International Assessments Tell Us About Math Achievement, by Tom Loveless , Teachers' College Record, April 07, 2009, 2009,
Notes: [Online publication: ID number 15613],
Review,
PUBLISHED

Mathematics education, in particular mathematics curriculum, teaching and learning; philosophies of mathematics education and their implications for teaching and learning; mathematical identity; teaching and learning (especially teaching and learning mathematics) with ICTs; computer programming and computational thinking in school curricula